2014 MLS Player Salaries

[Red CB Toronto]

http://www.mlsplayers.org/files/April%201,%202014%20Salary%20Information%20-%20By%20Club.pdf

- Bradley beats Defoe for highest paid Red, good to see Osario with a good bump.

TOR Agbossoumonde Gale D $ 48,825.00 $ 55,491.67
TOR Aparicio Manuel M $ 48,500.00 $ 48,500.00
TOR Bekker Kyle M $ 51,150.00 $ 77,400.00
TOR Bendik Joe GK $ 140,000.00 $ 147,375.00
TOR Bloom Mark D $ 48,825.00 $ 48,825.00
TOR Bradley Michael M $ 6,000,000.00 $ 6,500,000.00
TOR Caldwell Steven D $ 325,000.00 $ 364,166.67
TOR Cesar Julio GK $ 192,000.00 $ 202,000.00
TOR Defoe Jermain F $ 6,000,000.00 $ 6,180,000.00
TOR DeRosario Dwayne M $ 137,000.00 $ 173,000.00
TOR Dike Bright F $ 60,637.50 $ 63,575.00
TOR Goncalves Jackson D $ 150,000.00 $ 202,500.00
TOR Hagglund Nick D $ 48,500.00 $ 48,500.00
TOR Hall Jeremy D $ 105,000.00 $ 115,000.00
TOR Hamilton Jordan F $ 60,000.00 $ 72,500.00
TOR Henry Doneil D $ 75,000.00 $ 87,083.33
TOR Junior Gilberto F $ 1,145,000.00 $ 1,205,000.00
TOR Konopka Chris GK $ 60,000.00 $ 60,000.00
TOR Lovitz Daniel M $ 36,504.00 $ 36,504.00
TOR Morgan Ashtone D $ 80,000.00 $ 92,000.00
TOR Morrow Justin D $ 160,000.00 $ 169,562.50
TOR Nakajima-Farran Issey M $ 90,000.00 $ 110,000.00
TOR Orr Bradley D $ 75,000.00 $ 75,000.00
TOR Osorio Jonathan M $ 135,000.00 $ 142,599.68
TOR Rey Alvaro F $ 180,000.00 $ 204,450.00
TOR Richter Ryan F $ 48,500.00 $ 48,500.00
TOR Roberts Quillan GK $ 48,825.00 $ 48,825.0

[OgtheDim]

Cesar........oh the interwebs are going to have a bird over that one.


That's alot of money for a back up mid in Hall. Orr is a bit of a steal.

Happy to see DeRo's contract at that point, & Osorio get the wage increase.

[Ultra & Proud]

That's way too much money for Hall.

Fixed.

[TFC07]

How in the world is Jordan Hamilton making that much money as academy player?

Overall, cap looks well managed and not too many players are considered overpaid.

[Phil]

Caldwell treading into that close to DP money too.

[Phil]

Laba at $300 000 against Vancouver.

[Stress]

any ideas why JHams is getting paid so much for an academy rookie? did he have other offers?

also, Bloom will likely be requesting a raise next year if he keeps it up.

[MartinUtd]

How in the world is Jordan Hamilton making that much money as academy player?

Overall, cap looks well managed and not too many players are considered overpaid.

Yeah that one stuck out at me. Especially beside Doneil Henry who's on just $12k more.

[TFC07]

any ideas why JHams is getting paid so much for an academy rookie? did he have other offers?

also, Bloom will likely be requesting a raise next year if he keeps it up.

I am going to assume that Hamilton might had offers overseas and TFC had to overpaid him to get him stay with Toronto.

[TFC07]

Yeah that one stuck out at me. Especially beside Doneil Henry who's on just $12k more.

It might show how high TFC on Hamilton and his potential that they're willing pay almost double amount what acadmey players usually get when they sign with first team in their first year.

[TFC07]

Caldwell treading into that close to DP money too.

Yeah, that isn't good news for us, but hopefully salary cap increase so Caldwell contract doesn't handicap us to signing more players in the off-season.

[Ivy]

I don't have a calculator, but it doesn't appear TFC is within the cap.

[pdogg]

I don't have a calculator, but it doesn't appear TFC is within the cap.


Without the DPs, Base Salary total is $2,404,267... Guaranteed is $2,693,358

[PopePouri]

I don't have a calculator, but it doesn't appear TFC is within the cap.

Mr. Allocation at work.


It might show how high TFC on Hamilton and his potential that they're willing pay almost double amount what acadmey players usually get when they sign with first team in their first year.

He's not on his way to Wilmington even though he's fit again. Might indicate that he'll get some decent minutes this season.

[Sweeper]

Is Orr on loan? That is a steal. Bloom too. Well done overall.

[Sweeper]

Mystery allocation at work.

[Auzzy]

There have been many articles how the listed salaries often don't match the cap hit.

[Lumpy]

Looks like Bendik was rewarded for his great goaltending.

[TFC07]

Mr. Allocation at work.



He's not on his way to Wilmington even though he's fit again. Might indicate that he'll get some decent minutes this season.

That's great news for us. Hamilton can potentially become best player to come out of academy if he lives up to his potential.

FYI: Hamilton is even making more money than Wiedeman and Dike.

[Initial B]

It looks like Dempsey is the highest paid player in MLS. Surprising, considering the amount of media Defoe and Bradley received.

[Areathrasher]

Top MLS base salaries per MLSPU: TFC $15.6m LAG $12.3m NYRB $10.2m SEA $9.6m VAN $5.4m MTL $4.6m FCD $4.1m

[KGH]

Cap is $3,100,000 this year

Players 1-20 count towards the cap. I have Bekker at #20 then including DPs I have:

Base - $3,238,638
Guaranteed at $3,520,711

Without Henry and Morgan (home grown rule still in effect?) then:
Base - $3,181,288
Guaranteed - $3,445,944

[OgtheDim]

It looks like Dempsey is the highest paid player in MLS. Surprising, considering the amount of media Defoe and Bradley received.

We heard rumours of Defoe getting some Toronto housing for his family - his Mom was mentioned. There are other forms of compensation. Although I'm sure a few owners (not the league) would like teams to keep everything open and known, I don't think MLSE plays in those waters anymore.

[Pookie]

Without the DPs, Base Salary total is $2,404,267... Guaranteed is $2,693,358

Check your calculator.

I get a base of $3.5M (with Defoe, Bradley and Gilberto counting $368,750 each).

As for bonuses, forgettaboutit. TFC is well over $15M.

No cap folks. Just a budget charge that flexes.

[gdg_9]

In general, which number is supposed to count against the cap? Base or guaranteed?

[KGH]

Check your calculator.

I get a base of $3.5M (with Defoe, Bradley and Gilberto counting $368,750 each).

As for bonuses, forgettaboutit. TFC is well over $15M.

No cap folks. Just a budget charge that flexes.

DPs are $387,500 this season.

Only 1-20 count so you don't include the following guys:



TOR Agbossoumonde Gale D $ 48,825.00 $ 55,491.67


TOR Bloom Mark D $ 48,825.00 $ 48,825.00


TOR Roberts Quillan GK $ 48,825.00 $ 48,825.0


TOR Aparicio Manuel M $ 48,500.00 $ 48,500.00


TOR Hagglund Nick D $ 48,500.00 $ 48,500.00


TOR Richter Ryan F $ 48,500.00 $ 48,500.00


TOR Lovitz Daniel M $ 36,504.00 $ 36,504.00

[TFC07]

Top MLS base salaries per MLSPU: TFC $15.6m LAG $12.3m NYRB $10.2m SEA $9.6m VAN $5.4m MTL $4.6m FCD $4.1m

Wow, Canadian teams are spending some money there. Nice to see that Canadian teams aren't scared to spent money like big US clubs.

[KGH]

In general, which number is supposed to count against the cap? Base or guaranteed?

No one really knows but based on most teams its the base

[KGH]

Roster Rule refresher for everyone:

Roster Rules and Regulations





2014 MLS Player Rules and Regulations SUMMARY

I. MLS ROSTER COMPOSITION

A Major League Soccer club’s first team roster is comprised of up to 30 players. All 30 players are eligible for selection to each 18-player game-day squad during the regular season and playoffs.

Salary & Budget:


Players occupying roster spots 1-20 count against the club’s 2014 salary budget of $3,100,000, and are referred to collectively as the club’s Salary Budget Players.

Roster spots 19 and 20 are not required to be filled, and teams may spread their salary budget across only 18 Salary Budget Players. A minimum salary budget charge will be imputed against a team’s salary budget for each unfilled senior roster slot below 18.
The maximum budget charge for a single player is $387,500.*


* See section entitled Allocation Money below, under Player Acquisition Mechanisms, for details on buying down a player’s budget charge.
** Age of player is determined by year (not date) of birth.



Players occupying roster spots 21-30 do not count against the club’s salary budget, and are referred to collectively as the club’s Off-Budget Players (maximum of 10 per team).

All Generation adidas players are Off-Budget players.
Players occupying roster spots 1-24 will earn at least $48,500 in 2014.
Players occupying roster spots 25-30 will earn at least $36,500 in 2014.
Clubs may sign up to two Homegrown Players contracts above the minimum salary and similar to Generation adidas player contract amounts.


Age Designations:


Any player making $36,500 must be under the age 25 (does not turn 25 or older in 2014).


(B) DESIGNATED PLAYER

The Designated Player Rule allows clubs to acquire up to three players whose salaries exceed their budget charges, with the club bearing financial responsibility for the amount of compensation above each player’s budget charge. Designated Player slots may be used to acquire players new to MLS or to retain current MLS players, subject to League approval.

In 2014, a Designated Player over the age of 23** will carry a salary budget charge of $387,500, unless the player joins his club in the middle of the season, in which case his budget charge will be $193,750.

A Designated Player 20 years old or younger** counts as $150,000 against the club’s salary budget and a Designated Player 21-23 years old counts as $200,000 against the club’s salary budget.

Clubs have the option of “buying down” the budget charge of a Designated Player with allocation money. The reduced charge may not be less than $150,000.

The budget charge for the midseason signing of a young Designated Player (23 years old and younger) is $150,000 and this amount cannot be lowered with allocation funds.

Each club has two Designated Player slots and clubs are allowed to “purchase” a third Designated Player slot for a one-time fee of $150,000 that will be dispersed in the form of allocation money to all clubs that do not have three Designated Players. Clubs will not have to buy the third DP roster slot to accommodate Designated Players 23 years old and younger.

Designated Player slots are not tradable.

** Age of player is determined by year (not date) of birth.

http://pressbox.mlssoccer.com/content/roster-rules-and-regulations

[Canary10]

“We’ve got a lot of flexibility,” Nelsen said on March 25. “We’re in a nice little spot. The one thing about it is, whether you use it now or wait to June or wait till something happens, because you need to keep some ammunition in the bank.”

A little hard to see where this Ryan Nelsen quote is coming from when you look at the salaries. Can't imagine there is too much room there, even with the "unofficial" roster rules.

[Red CB Toronto]

There have been many articles how the listed salaries often don't match the cap hit.

That was the case with Laba as he also had the transfer fee factored into his cap his.

[gdg_9]

Here's the page showing the players that count as Generation Adidas / Home Grown Players for 2014

http://www.adidas.com/us/content/generationadidas


For TFC, it shows just Hamilton and Morgan.

[pdogg]

Check your calculator.

I get a base of $3.5M (with Defoe, Bradley and Gilberto counting $368,750 each).

As for bonuses, forgettaboutit. TFC is well over $15M.

No cap folks. Just a budget charge that flexes.

My calculation is correct - I noted that without the DPs, the amount was $2,404,267. Add the cap hits for DPs ($368,750 x 3 = 1,106,250). add that to my number and you end up at $3,510,517, or as you said, $3.5M.

I didn't add the DPs as I wasn't sure what the cap hit was this year, and of Gilberto's age (young DP or not - he's 24 so not). If we really wanted to get into the nitty gritty, as KGH noted above, there are HG and players 21-30 that need to be excluded as well.

[Yohan]

Here's the page showing the players that count as Generation Adidas / Home Grown Players for 2014

http://www.adidas.com/us/content/generationadidas


For TFC, it shows just Hamilton and Morgan.
i'm pretty sure that lists all the past and current GA with the team

[pdogg]

“We’ve got a lot of flexibility,” Nelsen said on March 25. “We’re in a nice little spot. The one thing about it is, whether you use it now or wait to June or wait till something happens, because you need to keep some ammunition in the bank.”

A little hard to see where this Ryan Nelsen quote is coming from when you look at the salaries. Can't imagine there is too much room there, even with the "unofficial" roster rules.

Allocation. Sweet, delicious allocation. Coming in last allocation, Silva trade allocation, minus the Hagglund draft spot jump allocation.

We could have a few $100,000 still left. Or nothing... that's the beauty of MLS. I can come up with a number and no one can dispute it!

[gdg_9]

i'm pretty sure that lists all the past and current GA with the team

Nope.
It specifically says "2014 generation adidas players" at the top of the list.

[gdg_9]

In general, which number is supposed to count against the cap? Base or guaranteed?


No one really knows but based on most teams its the base


Here's the page showing the players that count as Generation Adidas / Home Grown Players for 2014

http://www.adidas.com/us/content/generationadidas


For TFC, it shows just Hamilton and Morgan.


So using Base Salary figures, and with Morgan and Hamilton as Non-Budget Players, I have TFC's Cap Hit at $3,218,613.

This puts them $118,613 over the cap.

However, it doesn't include allocation, which I'm sure they got a fair chunk of for finishing so low last season.
I could also see MLS throwing them some allocation relief for Dike's pre-season injury (his salary is still included in the Cap Hit above).

[OgtheDim]

IIRC, we are likely also eating part of Ecks salary (Mariner you tool). Allocation I assume.

[Ultra & Proud]

IIRC, we are likely also eating part of Ecks salary (Mariner you tool). Allocation I assume.
Salary or cap space? No problem with salary. Not my money. Cap space is another story.

[Yohan]

Nope.
It specifically says "2014 generation adidas players" at the top of the list.
Omar Gonzalez at 1 mil + as GA?

[ManUtd4ever]

As far as TFC is concerned...Overall, very reasonable in terms of value for the dollar in relative terms, and a far cry from the salary debacles of years past.

[gdg_9]

Omar Gonzalez at 1 mil + as GA?

I guess?

Just reading what it says... but really, who knows exactly what to believe when it comes to anything salary related in MLS.

(and really, would it be that surprising for MLS to allow LAG that kind of loophole?)

[Graeme]

Roster Rule refresher for everyone:

Roster Rules and Regulations

Players occupying roster spots 1-20 count against the club’s 2014 salary budget of $3,100,000, and are referred to collectively as the club’s Salary Budget Players.

Roster spots 19 and 20 are not required to be filled, and teams may spread their salary budget across only 18 Salary Budget Players. A minimum salary budget charge will be imputed against a team’s salary budget for each unfilled senior roster slot below 18.
The maximum budget charge for a single player is $387,500.*




Since we only have 27 people on our roster, I assume we are leaving roster spots 19 and 20 free. Only the top 18 nonGA players will count.

[Ivy]

I'm fine with all those numbers, except Hamilton, Jackson, and Rey. For me, they're making 30,70, and 50 respectively too much in relation to other players in the league.

[mowe]

On budget:

1) Bradley Michael M $ 6,000,000.00 $ 6,500,000.00 (cap hit: $ 387,500)
2) Defoe Jermain F $ 6,000,000.00 $ 6,180,000.00 (cap hit: $ 387,500)
3) Junior Gilberto F $ 1,145,000.00 $ 1,205,000.00 (cap hit: $ 387,500)
4) Caldwell Steven D $ 325,000.00 $ 364,166.67
5) Cesar Julio GK $ 192,000.00 $ 202,000.00
6) Rey Alvaro F $ 180,000.00 $ 204,450.00
7) Morrow Justin D $ 160,000.00 $ 169,562.50
8) Goncalves Jackson D $ 150,000.00 $ 202,500.00
9) Bendik Joe GK $ 140,000.00 $ 147,375.00
10) DeRosario Dwayne M $ 137,000.00 $ 173,000.00
11) Osorio Jonathan M $ 135,000.00 $ 142,599.68
12) Hall Jeremy D $ 105,000.00 $ 115,000.00
13) Nakajima-Farran Issey M $ 90,000.00 $ 110,000.00
14) Morgan Ashtone D $ 80,000.00 $ 92,000.00
15) Henry Doneil D $ 75,000.00 $ 87,083.33
16) Orr Bradley D $ 75,000.00 $ 75,000.00
17) Wiedeman Andrew F $ 60,500.00 $ 70,500.00
18) Dike Bright F $ 60,637.50 $ 63,575.00
19) Konopka Chris GK $ 60,000.00 $ 60,000.00
20) Bekker Kyle M $ 51,150.00 $ 77,400.00

Total base: $ 3,238,787
Without Henry/Morgan: $ 3,083,787

Off budget:

21)
22)
23) Hamilton Jordan F $ 60,000.00 $ 72,500.00
24) Agbossoumonde Gale D $ 48,825.00 $ 55,491.67
25) Bloom Mark D $ 48,825.00 $ 48,825.00
26) Roberts Quillan GK $ 48,825.00 $ 48,825.00
27) Aparicio Manuel M $ 48,500.00 $ 48,500.00
28) Hagglund Nick D $ 48,500.00 $ 48,500.00
29) Richter Ryan F $ 48,500.00 $ 48,500.00
30) Lovitz Daniel M $ 36,504.00 $ 36,504.00

We have two off-budget spots open so if we sign someone (who will likely not be a minimum salary) they'll push our lowest on-budget player down. Unless those spots are already occupied by Henry/Morgan. In fact, since the rules state you can have as low as 18 on-budget players I'd bet we do have those two on-budget spots open for a trialist or someone.

In any case, we look to be right at the cap without factoring in any allocation. Assuming we have at least a couple hundred thousand in allocation we should still be able to sign a decent player or two.

[molenshtain]

Allocation. Sweet, delicious allocation. Coming in last allocation, Silva trade allocation, minus the Hagglund draft spot jump allocation.

Pretty sure we also spunked a bunch of allocation to get both morrow and Jackson. I doubt either of them came cheap.

[Abou Sky]

Isn't the cap $3.1 this year?

We stocked up on allocation for a while, plus the bonuses for sucking etc. I think we should likely still have quite a bit of room.

[notthesun]

That GA list also lists Frei for Seattle... he's on at least his 3rd contract in the league? No way he's still a GA player under league rules.

Pretty pleased with our salaries overall. Bez has done good work. Hall will be moved at some point so I'm not too concerned there, and I wonder if Caldwell might be brought down a bit next year (he was only on 90k last year, probably necessary to fit him under the cap, and now he's gotten a big boost, so maybe he'll drop a bit next year). Julio Cesar's cap hit is almost criminal, tip of the hat to Bez and Nelsen there.

Great value of out Osorio, Henry and Bloom.

[Pookie]

In general, which number is supposed to count against the cap? Base or guaranteed?


The answer is neither.

The numbers are published by the Player's Association not the league. They publish them for agents and players to get a sense of contract values. Guaranteed numbers also include things like agent fees, etc.

Can't think of it like the NHL. Whatever the players earns in a season is what the league assigns as their budget charge.

The closest number that "counts" is the base number.

[Lumpy]

Here is the important rule that needs to be taken in to account. "Clubs have the option of “buying down” the budget charge of a Designated Player with allocation money. The reduced charge may not be less than $150,000" What this means is that each D.P. could be costing us only $150,000 towards the cap if the maximum was used. This would take off up to $237,500 per D.P. which theoretically could reduce their total cost by up to $712,500. I assume we used some of the allocation money to allow us to meet the cap.

[PopePouri]

Is Reo-Coker a DP because that would make Laba the 4th DP on their team.

[Soccerpro]

Jeremy Hall is the man to be shown the door in order to bring someone else in at a decent salary.

[gdg_9]

Jeremy Hall is the man to be shown the door in order to bring someone else in at a decent salary.

That was one of my thoughts too when looking at the list...

[Yohan]

I agree that it's time for Hall to go. He was decent depth last season, but this season, TFC needs more from depth DM and Hall isn't good enough anymore.

However, expansion draft is end of the year, and Hall makes a good bait for NYCFC and Orlando to pick up as one of their picks.

[Captain]

Shouldn't Osorio be counted as a home grown player? I thought he came out of the academy last year. Morgan was signed long before and he still counts as home grown.

[Kaz]

Shouldn't Osorio be counted as a home grown player? I thought he came out of the academy last year. Morgan was signed long before and he still counts as home grown.

He might be ineligible as a HG because he played on the Canada U20 squad in 2011 before he was signed. ( I seem to recall that they can't.. but I can't recall where I read that, or when... so I could be wrong)

[notthesun]

Osorio is a Homegrown player but if the rules for the expansion draft are the same as last time, HG players are only automatically protected if they are in roster slots 21-30 (off-budget players). Given Osorio's raise this is no longer the case I think.

[mcolvy]

Why Is Hamilton making so much more money is his first year contract then the other like Aparcio? Maybe he had options in europe?
Thats a solid deal for the kid, like holly crap, Bloom makes less then him..

And Osorio got quite the bump up in compensation from his first year..

[mcolvy]

Bendik is overpaid. That pissed me off. One good year and he gets to more than double his salary and make solid money. Ridiculous in my opinion. Way too much money, he isnt even that good.
Just weird we have two goalies eating up along 400,000

[ag futbol]

Glad to see Osorio got a bit of a wage increase. To me, all signs point to a cap increase in next CBA, only question is how much?

[ag futbol]

Shouldn't Osorio be counted as a home grown player? I thought he came out of the academy last year. Morgan was signed long before and he still counts as home grown.
That's just TFC marketing. He has very little to do with the academy. Trained in Urguary and came here where he mainly played CSL and came to the occasional TFC camp.

[notthesun]

Bendik is overpaid. That pissed me off. One good year and he gets to more than double his salary and make solid money. Ridiculous in my opinion. Way too much money, he isnt even that good.
Just weird we have two goalies eating up along 400,000

He was going to be our starting GK, he gets starting GK money. Simple as that and I have no problem with it. Still 50k cheaper than Frei and Cesar is gone after this year.

For Osorio, he wasn't grown at home, but he's a Homegrown Player as far as the league is concerned.

[Lumpy]

Bendik is overpaid. That pissed me off. One good year and he gets to more than double his salary and make solid money. Ridiculous in my opinion. Way too much money, he isnt even that good.
Just weird we have two goalies eating up along 400,000

10 goalies make more than Bendik does (not including Cesar). I don't think he is overpaid.

[Pookie]

On one hand, people expect players to give up "real" careers and education to pursue soccer.

Yet there is nitpicking over what domestic players earn. Some of these guys may never earn over $100k/year again in their lifetimes. It's not a life changing annual sum.

If anything this league should have more Bendik salaries.

[prizby]

good chance that Jordan Hamilton was signed to one of those HGP GA deals

[gdg_9]

good chance that Jordan Hamilton was signed to one of those HGP GA deals

He was...

http://www.adidas.com/us/content/generationadidas

[prizby]

He was...

http://www.adidas.com/us/content/generationadidas

according to reports, Wenger isn't GA...and he is listed, not taking away from Hamilton, but no way Ashtone Morgan is still GA

[ensco]

Raise your hand if you didn't know Gilberto's surname before seeing this list.

[Leedsoronto]

On one hand, people expect players to give up "real" careers and education to pursue soccer.

Yet there is nitpicking over what domestic players earn. Some of these guys may never earn over $100k/year again in their lifetimes. It's not a life changing annual sum.

If anything this league should have more Bendik salaries.

A Good point well said

[OgtheDim]

Raise your hand if you didn't know Gilberto's surname before seeing this list.

I see that and all I can think of is Sean Connery in that Indiana Jones film.

[ensco]

I see that and all I can think of is Sean Connery in that Indiana Jones film.


I'm thinking Junior mints. Like the Seinfeld episode. (Can you even get those up here?)

[PopePouri]

We should keep in mind, that the new CBA is next year. Who know what a reasonable salary will be then.

[Initial B]

^ That's what I'm thinking. The league may be crying poor, but I think they know they have to step things up. I can't see them not raising the cap to at least $4.5 million.

[KGH]

^ That's what I'm thinking. The league may be crying poor, but I think they know they have to step things up. I can't see them not raising the cap to at least $4.5 million.

If they do that then expect a significantly larger portion of DP's salaries to count against the cap.

I'd like to see transfer fees not counted towards the cap. I think it will allow teams to bring in quality foreign players and allow the teams that have a bit more $ not get penalized for taking the chance on owning players.

[Cas87]

We should keep in mind, that the new CBA is next year. Who know what a reasonable salary will be then.


^ That's what I'm thinking. The league may be crying poor, but I think they know they have to step things up. I can't see them not raising the cap to at least $4.5 million.


If they do that then expect a significantly larger portion of DP's salaries to count against the cap.

I'd like to see transfer fees not counted towards the cap. I think it will allow teams to bring in quality foreign players and allow the teams that have a bit more $ not get penalized for taking the chance on owning players.

I agree if the cap goes up then more of the homegrown stars will be getting pay increases, the amount counting against cap for DPs will go up (probably up to $500,000 even based on a 4.5 - 5 million cap, and some of the lower professionals in Europe that haven't gotten a chance to move up may work their way over for comparable salaries).

[Pookie]

Hold on though, why does anyone expect wages to change if the "cap" goes up?

This isn't the NHL. Outside of DPs, the teams aren't spending their own money. This isn't a "free market" buyers and sellers setting wages based on demand and supply.

This is the MLS. MLS pays the salaries and signs the contracts. It does so out of its own revenues. It is the only buyer in this market.

This "Cap" could be $10M and it wouldn't matter if MLS didn't have the revenue to sign the players. Salaries will go up if revenues go up.

[notthesun]

Hold on though, why does anyone expect wages to change if the "cap" goes up?

This isn't the NHL. Outside of DPs, the teams aren't spending their own money. This isn't a "free market" buyers and sellers setting wages based on demand and supply.

This is the MLS. MLS pays the salaries and signs the contracts. It does so out of its own revenues. It is the only buyer in this market.

This "Cap" could be $10M and it wouldn't matter if MLS didn't have the revenue to sign the players. Salaries will go up if revenues go up.

You can expect the league minimum wages to be increased as part of the CBA negotiations. If the minimums rise, everything else rises accordingly.

[Pookie]

You can expect the league minimum wages to be increased as part of the CBA negotiations. If the minimums rise, everything else rises accordingly.

Sure but that would be the decision of the league. They could raise the minimum salary without really altering their pay scale for the players with 3+ years experience.

They will ultimately sign players at wages they can afford. "Raising the cap" is essentially inconsequential to what MLS can afford to pay.

MLS pays the salaries of all but 3 TFC players.

Don't forget too that the league actually does have a cap. It's not the salary one which is actually a budget but it is a cap on the number of International players a team can have. Unless that changes, the bulk of MLS players will continue to come from the US and to a much smaller extent, Canadian, talent pool. There is no supply shortage there which means it is essentially a buyer's market. MLS will pay what it wants to. There is not much competition for the typical MLS player on the international market.

Raising the league minimum is a good thing though. It should encourage people to not give up on soccer and think of it as a viable "career" or at least a way to earn a living through the first decade of one's work life.

[Initial B]

Hold on though, why does anyone expect wages to change if the "cap" goes up?

This "Cap" could be $10M and it wouldn't matter if MLS didn't have the revenue to sign the players. Salaries will go up if revenues go up
I expect wages to go up because the Players Union will demand it for their lower-tier players. I expect revenue is going up gecause the new TV deal is 7 times the size of the old one.

I did a comparison of all the clubs' 2014 Salaries and this is what I come up with ranked highest to lowest:


Club
2014 Guaranteed Compensation
Average Annual Attendance per game


TOR Total
$16,648,858
19,912


LA Total
$13,054,244
22,094


SEA Total
$11,787,587
37,254


NY Total
$11,245,784
17,228


VAN Total
$6,272,750
19,444


MTL Total
$6,067,139
21,678


DAL Total
$4,645,279
12,157


SJ Total
$4,327,176
12,546


PHI Total
$4,231,924
18,522


DC Total
$4,098,050
17,039


POR Total
$3,922,328
19,633


RSL Total
$3,831,635
17,269


KC Total
$3,731,612
11,745


CLB Total
$3,687,508
15,234


HOU Total
$3,660,715
17,914


CHI Total
$3,631,411
15,641


COL Total
$3,488,901
14,741


NE Total
$3,432,422
15,461


CHV Total
$3,292,674
15,566


Grand Total
$115,057,996
341,078


Club Average
$6,055,684
17,951


Club Median
$4,098,050
17,228



Now Lieweke says they're loosing money this year, so assume that a $16 million payroll is too high. However, Seattle is profitable and TFC was still profitable back in 2012 when they had a team salary of $9.3 million. To me, that indicates that if you have a full 20,000-seat stadium every home game and a good jersey sponsor, you can afford a $10 million payroll. But the majority of these teams say they're losing money even though the majority are spending under $4 million on salaries. The clubs generating the least revenue are only about 3000 spectators lower than the average. Are margins really that tight? Something isn't adding up here.

[Pookie]

...
Now Lieweke says they're loosing money this year, so assume that a $16 million payroll is too high. However, Seattle is profitable and TFC was still profitable back in 2012 when they had a team salary of $9.3 million. To me, that indicates that if you have a full 20,000-seat stadium every home game and a good jersey sponsor, you can afford a $10 million payroll. But the majority of these teams say they're losing money even though the majority are spending under $4 million on salaries. The clubs generating the least revenue are only about 3000 spectators lower than the average. Are margins really that tight? Something isn't adding up here.

Trying to figure out whether sports teams are in fact losing money is a pretty tough exercise. Since they aren't public entities, lots of factors can go into a balance sheet.

You do have to remember something about MLS though, the teams don't pay the salaries. The league does.

So, if each team is assigned a max budget of $2.9M, MLS is paying that. There are 19 teams. That means MLS is probably paying $55M in salaries + whatever it floats via allocation.

Anything above the assigned budget and allocation, ie. DPs, is the responsibility of the teams.

It gets really complex if you look into the actual structure of the single entity league. I am paraphrasing from this document:

http://www.niu.edu/law/organizations/law_review/pdfs/full_issues/31_1/Jakobsze%20131-174.pdf

but the gist of it is as follows:

Each franchise doesn't actually own the team but rather stock in the league. They get a seat on the Board of Governors and manage the day to day operations of the team. The Board, the collective of operators and league designates, assigns profit and loss to each team and controls operations. In addition to owning the teams, the league also owns all equipment, broadcast rights, ticket rights and intellectual property.

Teams let the operators hire local staff. As of 2010, the league gives each team a management fee that was equal to 50% of local ticket sales and concessions, the first $1.125M of local TV revenues, 100% of overseas tours (Friendlies anyone), and 50% of revenues from the MLS Championship game.

The article is a fascinating, though sometimes heady look at how the league was structured and the challenges it will face as it gradually loses its grip on the single entity structure.

In response to your original question, yeah it doesn't add up because the formula is very unique to professional sport.